“We are in very serious negotiations with [Besiktas],” Iverson’s business manager Gary Moore told Yahoo Sports. “Istanbul is beautiful from everything we’ve learned. It’s not that far from the U.S., and the competition is good which makes it all attractive.

“Allen wants to play basketball.”

Iverson, 35, was a four-time NBA scoring leader during his 14-season career. He earned the league’s most valuable player award in 2001. He averaged a career-low 13.8 points per game in 28 games with Memphis and Philadelphia last season.

With points still at a premium for many NBA franchises, it seems hard to believe that any team wouldn’t make him an offer. But with cost containment a key word, it’s hard to believe that any NBA team would offer Iverson nearly the money he could make in Turkey.